IMF could be lender of last resort for independent Scotland

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The IMF in Washington could have a key role in the event of a new currencyKim Kyung Hoon/Reuters

Mike Wade

Last updated at 12:01AM, September 11 2013

The International Monetary Fund could become the lender of last resort should an independent Scotland adopt its own currency, according an eminent panel of economists.

Members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the British Academy considered options for the finance sector, assuming a ‘Yes’ vote in next September’s referendum.

Their report, released last night, considered three currency options: a sterling union, the euro and an independent currency, the latter emerging as “a serious option”. However, in the coded language of economists, the panel suggested all were far from perfect: “None of the currency options for an independent Scotland dominate